This invention relates to pliers. More particularly it relates to specialized pliers for closing a locking ring.
A unique locking ring has been developed by George W. Jensen and it, together with a pneumatic clenching tool, are described and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,476,616 the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. The Jensen locking ring was developed primarily as an improvement over the Hog ring. The Jensen locking ring utilizes a pair of locking loops which are on different planes from one another. It is particularly useful in applications requiring great strength such as, for example, holding gabions together where the locking ring must withstand hundreds of pounds of force. As shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,476,616, a pneumatic tool was developed to interconnect the loops thus clenching the locking ring. The pneumatic tool utilizes a die having a pair of oppositely-tapered grooves for providing the clenching operation. Furthermore, a magazine containing a plurality of locking rings is normally utilized with the pneumatic tool making that system high-speed.
However, there is a need for an inexpensive and easy to use apparatus for clenching the Jensen locking ring where the speed of operation is not a great limiting factor.
Various pliers and other tools have been developed for closing staples and rings such as hog rings. Examples of such tools are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,562,097 issued to Heuer, 2,299,858 issued to Sorenson, 1,848,763 issued to Baringer, and 3,507,305 issued to Crabb; however, the devices shown in those patents are not suitable to clench the Jensen locking ring.